Underlings are full of stories of how Green has quickened the pace. Decisions that used to take a month now take half an hour. Gone are the endless meetings and presentations. "Forty percent of my time used to be spent involved in senior management politics," says Paul Coackley, BHS' chief operating officer.

But Green's success isn't appreciated in every quarter. Tom B. Hunter, a Scotsman who owns 5% of BHS, says Green's critics are simply green with envy. "The fact of the matter is, he can be very abrasive," says Hunter. "There's also a lot of jealousy with people who earn that sort of money."

Perhaps it's jealousy that has fueled some wild rumors surrounding Green's early business exploits. Green dismisses such gossip but appears to relish his bad-boy reputation. "I think you can do one or two things early on that you wish you might not have done," he confesses. "But once you start to develop your business career, you either do things the right way or the wrong way."

What's his next target? Two of Britain's largest grocers, Asda and Tesco, have moved heavily into clothing in the past few years, and acquiring J Sainsbury, the fourth-largest grocer, might be a good way for Green to fight them off. But he denies having any designs on the grocery business.

For now he says his plan is to focus on BHS and Arcadia, concentrate on growth and, he hopes, to one day hand his two children, Brandon, 11, and Chloe, 13, a healthy family enterprise. "I wouldn't do a deal just for the sake of doing another deal," he says. "I wouldn't want to jeopardize what I've already achieved."

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